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For the Yellow Army it's death by a thousand cuts; the abyss looms as City sleepwalk into a chilling season finale

5th May 2013 By Gary Gowers 7 Comments

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Having just scanned the #NCFC Twitter timeline I can see I’m far from alone in having woken up this morning wishing it was all a bad dream.

As Saturdays’ go, yesterday was about as bad as it gets; fate continuing to do its worst as City’s season plunged to a new low.

That Paul Lambert chose to prance across the pitch to boisterously celebrate Premier League survival with his new charges merely added salt into an already open wound – magnanimity never one of his finest qualities.

As it happens, that yesterday’s was one of City’s better performances of 2013 is of little consolation; results being everything at this stage of the season, the manner of them almost irrelevant.

Sadly, it was a familiar story with much of the good, high tempo approach play rendered futile with Brad Guzan, in truth, having a fairly quiet 94 minutes. For the second week running an opposition keeper expecting the busiest of afternoons – given the ‘six points’ on offer – would have departed the scene pleasantly surprised; City’s continuing inability to create and convert chances key to their current predicament.

And it’s not as if we haven’t seen it coming. With the ten-game unbeaten run now having taken the form of a spell of light relief from an otherwise dire campaign, City have reached the point of no return – their fate no longer guaranteed to be in their own hands.

For the Yellow Army it’s excruciating to watch; akin to death by a thousand cuts.

Since the New Year, Chris Hughton’s conservative approach has taken on a life of its own and – as highlighted on BBC Radio Norfolk’s McVeigh & Butler last week – leaves little or no margin for error. Games that looked to be heading for draws have ended in defeat in the same way those that appeared ‘there for the taking’ have invariably ended in a point apiece.

The missing elements have been the late winners, the games where victory has been snatched from the jaws of defeat [Everton aside], the days when you come away feeling like the beneficiaries of a daylight robbery. They simply haven’t happened to us – City invariably on the receiving end when late dramas and gift-horses have been on the loose.

And I’m finding it hard to align myself with those who blame rotten luck and not getting the run of the ball for our flirtation with the abyss. Please forgive the clichés, but you really do make your own luck; fortune really does favour the brave.

City have done little to earn either.

A tepid, pragmatic, safety-first approach does little to safeguard against adversity, often leaving you nowhere to go when the brown stuff hits the fan. Those who have played the game – whatever the level – will recall how easy it is to take the foot off the pedal when things are going well, but how nigh on impossible it is to go ‘up a gear’ when you’ve started a game tentatively.

This – in my simple mind – is where Hughton and City find themselves. Not as easy as it sounds of course and in terms of effort and determination it’s hard to fault the players, but chuck the obvious lack of quality in the final third into the mix and you have a problem.

The latest round of flak that’s been fired in Hughton’s direction is surely a culmination of all of the above because, in fairness, I don’t think he did much wrong yesterday. Those who demanded a return to the side for Wes Hoolahan had their wish granted, and for an hour the little Irishman was excellent.

A telling sign with Wes is when he starts giving the ball away – usually a sign of fatigue – and with Grant Holt making obvious to the manager his desire for a strike-partner it made sense to swap Hoolahan for Kei Kamara, and go 4-4-2.

And for a while it looked like working. The equaliser, when it came, was no more than City deserved and – perhaps courtesy of the green and yellow tinted specs – at that stage there only looked to be one winner.

Alas, the rest is history; Gabriel Agbonlahor’s speed and ability to finish being the obvious difference between the two sides on an afternoon that exposed City’s deficiency in both.

So, while things – as they stand – look bleaker than bleak, let’s hope there is still a twist or two left. With Wigan doing their ‘usual’ – late-season wins almost a given – Newcastle now hit the City radar. Next Sunday’s away-game at Loftus Road will give them hope, but a final day visit from Arsenal looks tricky to say the least; albeit less daunting than a trip to the Etihad.

With a nerve-jangling week ahead, Hughton has to somehow inspire his players to go again. Whether more of the same will be enough to beat West Brom remains to be seen and probably depends on the mindset of the West-Midlanders, who now look unlikely to finish higher or lower than 8th.

That City’s fate rests on the attitude of opposition and results elsewhere speaks volumes. The numerous opportunities they have had to put this season to bed have been missed and now we’re all paying the price.

Not nice is it.

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Filed Under: Column, Gary Gowers

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Comments

  1. Russell S. says

    5th May 2013 at 11:41 am

    I got the ‘post-match, bank holiday blues’ – think that was by Blind Lemon Jefferson.
    Toothless in attack – Senor Becchio got another day off I see.
    Even a win against WBA probably won’t be enough unless the Geordies can’t win either of their last games. Wigan are on a roll and Di Canio will drag Sunderland from the mire,
    The unthinkable i.e. having to go to Manchester needing a result is looking like our fate – surely that will consign us back to Barnsley and Millwall..grim prospect indeed.

    Reply
  2. Toddus says

    5th May 2013 at 12:21 pm

    There’s still hope, but it’s getting slimmer with every passing point. Wigan have some very tricky fixtures and a cup final, which may potentially distract. The sad thing is, we’ve been so poor we’re focusing on others results so intently. We shouldn’t have lost yesterday, but we’ve said that so many times it’s boring. I’ve always supported Hughton and said next season is the real judgement (safety being the predefining ingredient of course), but these results are becoming increasingly difficult to justify (especially when there’s “not much more that Hughton could have done”). Sad, but distastefully true.

    Reply
  3. Stephen Moore says

    5th May 2013 at 12:35 pm

    Call me a dreamer or take off the “green&yellow” glasses but I still feel survival is in our hands. I see Wigan winning only 1 of the final games, Newcastle will only get 2 points, Villa maybe a point & Sunderland anything can happen. A must win against WBA is upon us so Mr Hughton must pull a Man U or Arsenal (h) out of the bag, if Man C win the FA Cup then it could be a good time to steal a point from them. As fans we have to be fully prepared to blow the roof of Carrow Rd next Sunday & roar our beloved club to safety, we are all in this position so take a slice of my positivity & allow it to grow into a monster ready for next Sunday. I repeat what Gary has said “FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BRAVE”.

    Reply
  4. Chris Riches says

    5th May 2013 at 3:02 pm

    I had my fill of needing results against teams with “nothing to play for” against Fulham(a) last time we were sent down from the top flight.

    There are NO meaningless games for teams at this level and West Brom are sitting in 8th for a very good reason. We are not Wigan, to storm our end of season fixtures – what DOES Martinez do/say every year to get these results?? To suggest that Man City won’t want to sign off at home with a win (regardless of whether they win the cup final)is not optimism, it is straw-clutching.

    Our best hope is Wigan fatigue and players trying to avoid injury against Swansea on Tuesday night. A thin hope, but our best.

    Reply
  5. Reg says

    5th May 2013 at 6:35 pm

    Remember Fulham

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  6. Steve Leach says

    7th May 2013 at 9:16 am

    2 reasons why Norwich will be relegated :
    Reason 1. Negative tactics. I know we’ve had some shockers at home (Fulham, Newcastle) but in 5 away games vs poor teams below us at the time (Reading 0-0 QPR 0-0 Villa 1-1 Wigan 0-1 and Stoke 0-1) we managed 1 goal and 3 points out of 15 with no attempt to win these games and in some cases the home keeper’s biggest worry being where to put his deck chair.
    Reason 2 – we dont win our Must Win ganes, no matter who is manager and which 11 are on the pitch (Fulham and Charlton away) The poor points total above made Villa at home a must win game and did anyone expect us to actually do it, comparing current form and managerial tactics? Agbonlahor had the freedom of Norfolk for one goal, Bunn was glued to his near post for the winner and Holt’s brilliant penalty was our only shot on target in 2nd half – in a Must Win game ! This makes Saturday v W Brom an even bigger must win game….and we don’t win them, do we ???

    Reply
  7. Mikey B says

    7th May 2013 at 9:27 am

    This article is the nearest anyone has got to placing the blame fairly and squarley where it should be – at the door of Hughton and his inept assistants. Nice guy and you’d want him as your next door neighbour – just don’t let him anywhere near your football team. Maybe he is working to instructions from a board of directors who have simply nodded off and taken their eye off the ball but whatever the reason the buck stops with Mr Negative.
    Not surprsingly those who make their living by being welcomed at Colney will wait until the tipping point is past before they jump on the bandwagon.

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